


A Little Mama Colton TLC Is All You Need

by TinkerBella



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-05 21:37:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10317500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinkerBella/pseuds/TinkerBella
Summary: So this is a Mac and Mama Colton story, kind of a sequel to my story WE ARE FAMILY, BY HOOK OR BY CROOK.  It's got some Mac Whump, a bit of H/C and some Jack Dalton at the end.  So Mac is recovering from a car crash that's was work related.  Jack and Bozer are away for the weekend and Mama Colton decides to go visit MacGyver.  Enjoy.





	

It was a cooler day for LA, but Mac still found himself shedding his zippered hoodie and tying it around his waist as the incline on the hiking path steepened. Five minutes later he found himself gingerly sitting down on a nearby bolder and trying to catch his breath. If Jack knew he was out hiking right now, MacGyver knew he would never hear the end of it. Which was why he was never going to find out.

 

After taking ten minutes to rest and soak up some sunshine, Mac stood up and continued his hike up the trail. He hadn't gone far, however, when he heard a car behind him. To his surprise, the dark gray vehicle ended up pulling up beside him. As the window slid down and a familiar voice called out his name, MacGyver came to an, almost screeching, halt. 

 

"Mama Colton?" Taking two steps back, Mac carefully bent down to peer inside the car. Sure enough, Mama Colton was smiling at him. "What are you doing here?"

 

"Remember how you said if I was ever *in town* I should stop in and say *hi*?" She waited for him to nod confirmation before continuing. "Well, I was in driving distance so...here I am."

 

Mac was surprised that she had taken him up on his offer, but happy to see her. At the same time he was a bit confused. "Where did you drive from?"

 

Mama Colton shrugged. "Las Vegas." She chuckled at the look of shock on MacGyver's face, but then she explained. "Ten years ago my best friend from high school moved to Vegas and every year I fly there for a girl's weekend, which just happened to be this weekend. You'll never guess who I ran into when we were out gambling."

 

"Jack." MacGyver knew that's who she meant because Jack just happened to be in Vegas at a weekend bachelor party for one of his Delta Force buddies. Somehow, it wasn't as surprising as it should have been that Jack and Mama Colton had run into each other. "Small world."

 

"Very." Mama couldn't keep a smile off her face. "He was a little bit tipsy and by 'a little' I mean a lot. He kept asking me if I'd brought him a buttermilk pie."

 

MacGyver found himself laughing at the image, because he could see it so clearly in his head. But then he sobered because he had no doubt but that Jack had told Mama Colton that he was 'home alone', so to speak. "Jack told you I was here all by myself, didn't he?"

 

Mama nodded. "He said that Bozer had dragged Riley to a Comic Con a few weeks ago, so she made him go to a computer convention in return. So you're on your own and on medical leave for two weeks with one week down and one to go. So I decided to rent a car and drive up to see you for the day. I booked a flight home from LAX tomorrow afternoon."

 

"Well it's good to see you." MacGyver realized he hadn't sounded very welcoming earlier and he apologized for that as well. 

 

"No apology necessary, sugar," Mama replied. "I should apologize for not giving you notice, but I was hoping to surprise you."

 

MacGyver grinned. "You succeeded."

 

Mama leaned across the front seat to open the door. "Hop in, carefully, and I'll give you a ride home."

 

"How did you find me anyway?" Mac asked, as he gingerly slid into the passenger seat.

 

"Well, I drove to your house and you didn't answer the door, which worried me a bit since your car was parked outside," Mama admitted. "So I tried calling you and you didn't answer."

 

MacGyver winced at the gentle admonishment. "Yeah...I left my phone at home so Jack wouldn't call and yell at me."

 

Mama sighed and shook her head as she put the car into drive and drove into a turn around so she could change direction. "Well he told me to yell at you for him. I called him when I couldn't get a hold of you and he suggested that I try this trail and that, if I did find you, I should yell at you for going against doctor's orders."

 

"Yeah, well...Jack needs to stop being such a Mother Hen," Mac groused. 

 

"It's called being a good friend who cares," Mama gently admonished. "Broken ribs are nothing to mess around with, sugar, and we both know how smart you are. So what makes you think that hiking with broken ribs is a good idea?"

 

MacGyver opened his mouth to reply but snapped it closed when he realized he didn't have a justifiable reason. Instead he shrugged, deciding that silence was the better option.

 

Mama Colton chuckled, then decided to be nosy. "Jack didn't give me any details about your injury, MacGyver. So how did you end up with broken ribs?"

 

"Car crash," he replied, both of them knowing that he couldn't be specific. "I kinda had to drive our car into a van to stop the van from crashing into a school bus."

 

"That's very brave and noble of you," Mama replied.

 

Mac snorted. "Jack called it stupid."

 

Mama rather agreed with Jack but at the same time, knowing how smart MacGyver was, she had no doubt that the boy hadn't had any other option at the time. "So how are you feeling, sugar? Still suffering from headaches?"

 

"Wow, Jack doesn't know when to shut up when he's drunk, does he?" Mac hadn't expected his friend to tell Mama Colton everything. Like how he had also suffered a mild concussion that had left him with periodic headaches, but those were getting better daily. 

 

"He's just worried about you," Mama countered. "He was ready to hitch a ride back here with me. He didn't say exactly why, but he's feeling guilty about leaving you here on your own." In fact, Jack had asked Mama to keep an eye on MacGyver and to make sure he was eating and sleeping okay and, if he wasn't, to call and Jack would be back home ASAP.

 

That Jack was feeling guilty didn't surprise Mac. For one thing he'd felt like it should have been him in the van, which was ridiculous since Jack had been busy fending off three bad guys on his own. But there was another reason why Jack had been reluctant to leave MacGyver on his own this weekend, and today in particular. And it wasn't just Jack who felt guilty about leaving him alone. Mac had dozens of texts from Bozer, making sure he was doing okay and didn't need anything. But Mac didn't want to think about that, instead he smiled at Mama. "Jack can be an over-the-top Mother Hen at times. I just tend to ignore him."

 

That made Mama laugh. "He does come across as a bit of a Drama Queen."

 

"You have no idea," Mac countered, resisting the urge to laugh out loud right along with her. He knew all too well that laughing and broken ribs did not go well together. 

 

It was at that moment they pulled up to the house and as she parked the car, Mama said, "Are you hungry, sugar? I brought you my newest creation. Mama Colton's southern strawberry-rhubarb pie, there's a surprise ingredient that I can't share with you but I promise that it's scrumptious. I've got two in the cooler in the back."

 

Mac had no doubt but that it was delicious and strawberry-rhubarb pie was one of his favorites. "How about we save it for dinner and I'll make my famous mac and cheese casserole."

 

"You cook?" Mama couldn't hide her surprise.

 

"I do," Mac confirmed. "My Grandfather made sure I learned. He believed everyone should be self-sufficient."

 

Mama couldn't have agreed more. "I've tried teaching my kids to cook and the only one with any real talent is Billy. That said, I would love to try your casserole, but only if I can help you make dinner. You need to take it easy, sugar." She opened her door and stepped out, watching as Mac did the same, only he was moving very gingerly.

 

MacGyver hid a grimace as he exited the vehicle and moved to the back to reach for the cooler when Mama opened the hatch. Only for her to wave him aside, glaring at him until he moved back a few steps. It bothered him that she wouldn't accept his help, grabbing the cooler herself, but he took it with good grace as he led the way inside.

 

"Nice place," Mama commented, as Mac ushered her into the kitchen. She set the cooler on the counter then turned to study her surroundings. "You've done well for yourself, sugar."

 

"I do all right," Mac allowed. "Make yourself at home, Mama. I'm going to grab a quick shower." He felt sweaty and achy and he hoped a hot shower would refresh him so he could enjoy Mama's visit.

 

Mama waved him off. "Take your time, sugar. I'm going to familiarize myself with your kitchen." With that she shooed him away.

 

So Mac grabbed what he needed then he stood under the shower spray, wincing as he washed his hair and hissing as he shifted wrong while rinsing off. Getting dried and dressed seriously sucked and by the time he ran a brush through his damp hair, Mac felt like he had run a marathon. So he knew he wasn't looking up to par when he returned to the kitchen, to find Mama making some kind of salad. 

 

"I hope you don't mind, sugar," Mama offered in greeting. "I decided to get a head start on dinner." She stopped cutting tomatoes and took a good look at MacGyver. She did not like what she saw. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you look worse now than when you went to take your shower. Come sit down." She led him over to the couch and didn't miss how carefully he moved as he sat down. 

 

"I just need a minute, then we can work on dinner," Mac countered, slowly relaxing back into the pillows. 

 

Mama knew better. She could see how exhausted he was and that he was hurting and she wasn't going to let him suffer. "Do you have any pain pills, Sugar?"

 

MacGyver frowned at her. "I don't need pain pills, I'm just a little sore."

 

"You're hurting and tired and you're going to take a pill and sleep," Mama informed him, and he used her 'I will be obeyed' tone. 

 

"I will take a pill and sleep later," Mac promised. "I won't deny I'm tired and a bit sore, but I want to visit with you. You didn't drive all the way to LA from Vegas to watch me sleep."

 

Mama patted him on the knee. "Not exactly," she conceded. "But I have a confession to make. I came here because I wanted to see you, but mostly because I was worried about you."

 

That confession surprised MacGyver. "Why were you worried about me? I'm fine." At her skeptical look he amended, "Sore, but fine. Nothing to worry about here."

 

"I'm worried, because I could sense a change in you," Mama replied, and when MacGyver looked at her in confusion she went on to explain. "We've been texting for a couple of months and I truly look forward to your anecdotes. But since about a week ago the tone of your texts changed, and my 'Mama' instincts have been screaming at me that something is wrong."

 

"I didn't know texts had tones," Mac countered, half teasing. Truth be told he was a bit surprised by how insightful she was being. Being hurt in the crash hadn't made for a great week, in large part because he hated being out of play. But there was more going on than that and it surprised Mac that Mama had picked up on it. It also amazed him that she had taken the time to follow up on her concerns by coming to see him. It threw him off his game a little that she would go out of her way to come see him, just because she sensed something was wrong. He didn't know what to do with that.

 

Mama could see that she had surprised MacGyver with her words, and she wanted to reassure him. "You have a way about you where you view the glass of life as half full, when everyone else would tend to see it as half empty. It's uplifting in a way I know you haven't come to understand yet. But someday you will, and then you'll get how special you are."

 

Mac rolled his eyes. "There is absolutely nothing special about me, Mama."

 

"I couldn't disagree with you more, sugar," she countered, shaking her head at his nonsense. But then Mama grew serious. "I'm not just talking about how smart you are either, although I'm betting being so smart wasn't easy on you growing up."

 

"Well...I can't deny that being smarter than my teachers and having Angus as a first name did not make me Mr. Popular," Mac allowed, not really wanting to relive his middle and high school years. Although, to be honest, those were the easier things to deal with. Losing his mom and his dad walking out on him, those were the harder things he'd had to live through.

 

Mama found herself wanting to know more, much more about this special young man before her. "I'm guessing you could have done anything you wanted with your life, but you chose to work with the Government to save others. Why not become a scientist or an engineer or something much safer?"

 

MacGyver had been asked that question a couple of times in the past, most recently by Bozer after his friend had learned what he really did for a living. It was a question he had even asked himself at times, but never really figured out an answer to. However, he tried to give one to Mama now. "I have a tendency to get bored really easily and doing what I do, it seldom gets boring. Pretty much every day offers up a new challenge."

 

"It must be driving you a bit crazy being stuck at home for a couple of weeks then," Mama stated, offering a sympathetic smile. 

 

"More than you know." MacGyver reached for one of the paperclips scattered over the coffee table. His fingers worked it open but more for something to do than with the desire to create anything. "My brain is always racing as it is, when I get bored it's almost impossible to slow it down and forget shutting it down. If you know what I mean."

 

Mama nodded. "I get it. But I also sense that whatever is bothering you right now is more than just being stuck at home while you're healing."

 

To his surprise, Mac found himself telling Mama exactly what it was that was eating at him. "This is never a good week for me. Today is the anniversary of my mom's death and usually I'm busy with work and I don't have to think about it until after, and Bozer and Jack are around to distract me so..."

 

"So it's been awhile since you've been alone on this day," Mama finished for him.

 

"Pretty much." Mac felt a bit embarrassed by his confession, but at the same time it felt rather nice to say it out loud to someone who didn't know his entire life history and, therefore, wouldn't judge him on it. Not that Jack or Bozer ever did that, but at the same time they couldn't really understand where he was coming from. 

 

Mama studied MacGyver and she saw the sadness in his blue eyes. A boy never stopped loving his Mother and she ached for this incredible young man. She knew that he understood loss and that his pain went deeper than just losing his mom, because he had told her about his Dad walking out on him and how he had been betrayed by others in his life. "Well that explains why Mr. Delta Force was so worried about you, and I bet it wasn't easy getting him or Bozer to leave you."

 

MacGyver shrugged, then felt a bit like a kid who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar as he made a confession. "It was actually my idea for Riley to take Bozer to the computer convention, and I nearly had to ask Jack's friends to kidnap him to get him to go to Las Vegas."

 

"You needed some 'alone time'," Mama guessed, and she was quick to apologize. "And here I am dropping on you unexpectedly. No problem, sugar, I can make myself scarce and come back and visit some other time."

 

"No." Mac was quick to grab her hand when she made to rise. "I want you to stay. I admit I did want some time alone at first, but then I got a call and..." he broke off, uncertain how to continue and explain without giving away too much of himself.

 

Mama gave in to the urge to smooth a lock of blond hair off Mac's forehead, and she didn't miss the way he leaned into her touch. She knew he didn't even realize he was doing it. Her instincts were spot on, this beautiful boy was starved for motherly affection. "Who was the call from?" Mama prodded, gently.

 

Mac blurted out a reply, unable to stop himself. "Nikki. She's the woman I told you about before." 

 

"The woman you thought was that someone special." Mama remembered.

 

"Yeah." Mac stared down at the paperclip he was still fiddling with and realized he had made it into a broken heart. Tossing it aside, he said, "She called me a few hours ago. She wanted to know if I would like to meet up with her next weekend so we could spend some time reconnecting." Seeing Mama's confusion, Mac gave a non-detailed explanation. "Long story short, I thought Nikki had died only it turned out she was alive after all and I thought she had betrayed me, but she was actually working a job and things get rather complicated after that. In a nutshell, I still care about her and she wants to explore the option of maybe still having a future together."

 

Mama had been reading between the lines as he spoke and she thought she understood. "You decided going on a hike was a good idea after she called you, am I right?"

 

Mac didn't bother to deny it. "You are right. I didn't know what to think or how to feel about everything and my brain wouldn't shut down so...I went hiking. I knew I would regret it after, but I figured the pain would offer a distraction."

 

"You're a smart young man, sugar," Mama countered. "You know that wasn't a good option."

 

"I do know." Mac actually felt a bit ashamed of himself, but at the time he'd been desperate to get out of his own head. "The thing is, I'm usually pretty good at figuring things out."

 

Mama had no doubt about that. "I bet you're just like a dog with a bone."

 

Mac had to chuckle at that. "That's what Jack says about me, and you're both right. I can't let go of something until I figure it out."

 

"Let me give you a bit of advice, sugar," Mama countered. "Women are a puzzle you will never be able to figure out, and the sooner you accept that the better."

 

"Easier said than done," Mac replied, but he knew that Mama was right. "Right now I'd settle for being able to figure myself out."

 

Picking up the paperclip that MacGyver had discarded, Mama smoothed it out until the two ends were twisted together so that the broken heart became whole. "Would you like my two cents?" she asked.

 

MacGyver nodded. He would welcome whatever advice she could give him. "Please," he beseeched.

 

"Trust your instincts, sugar," she replied. "Pay attention to whatever it is they're telling you about Nikki. If you have doubts, then investigate them. In the end I know you'll make the right choice. And one more thing...trust in your friends. They really care about you, so let them be there for you."

 

"Sounds like a plan," Mac allowed. He might have said more but the front door suddenly banged open.

 

Jack entered the room with a six pack in one hand and a pizza in the other. "Have no fear, Jack Dalton's here!" he sing-songed as he made his way over to the kitchen counter and set down his goods. "Hey, Mac! Hello, Mama Colton!" he called out. "How's everyone doing?"

 

Unable to hide his surprise, Mac countered with, "What are you doing here, Jack? I thought you weren't due back until tomorrow night?"

 

"Lost all my money at Black Jack so I figured I'd better come home before I lost the shirt off my back," Jack replied. "I brought dinner. Hope you like meat lover's pizza, Mama."

 

"Sounds delicious," Mama replied, rising from the couch to head into the kitchen. "I just happened to make a salad and there's strawberry-rhubarb pie in the fridge for dessert."

 

Jack clapped his hands together in delight. "Perfect! Who's in for a Die Hard marathon?"

 

Mac just had to speak up at this point. "No Bruce Willis movies, Jack. Since Mama is my guest, she gets to pick movies."

 

"You wouldn't happen to have the original Star Wars movies, would you?" Mama replied. "I've been hankering to re watch them for a while now."

 

"Mac does have those," Jack interjected. "I gave them to him as a Christmas present a couple of years ago. I just haven't been able to convince him to watch them yet."

 

It was MacGyver's turn to speak up. "Actually, I did watch them, Jack. When I was on leave after Nikki shot me." 

 

Mama couldn't hide her shock at that revelation. "Nikki shot you?"

 

"Um...yeah." MacGyver had revealed that little tidbit without thinking about how it would sound to Mama Colton. "That was one of the complications I was telling you about." He waved it off. "So...pizza? I'm starving." He wasn't, but he definitely wanted to steer clear of anything Nikki related right now. Mac shifted so he could stand up but the movement grated on his ribs and he hissed in pain. 

 

Jack was by his side in an instant. "Just breathe, dude. Slow and easy." He waited until the color returned to MacGyver's face before asking, "You okay?"

 

Mac considered for a moment, then nodded. He made to stand up again and Jack gripped his arm to ease him up so it was a lot less painful this time. "Thanks. Why don't we eat out at the fire pit and we can watch the movies after?"

 

"Sounds like a lovely idea," Mama replied, remembering where the plates were and grabbing three of them. 

 

They trio grabbed their food and drinks and settled in around the fire pit after Jack lit it up. The next hour was spent eating and drinking, sharing stories and listening to Jack sing karaoke songs off-key.

 

Mama settled back in her chair and watched MacGyver as he listened to one of Jack's stories, a story he had no doubt heard many times before. It was lovely to see the bond between the two men, and Mama knew that Jack would always be there for MacGyver. That he would always look out for the young man. They weren't blood, but they were brothers. Family. 

 

He had another 'honorary' family member in Mama. She would do her own part in watching over him, and the world was a better place for having Angus MacGyver in it.

 

THE END


End file.
